Improvement in machines for making horseshoe-nails



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N- PETERS, FHOTO-LITHOGRAPMER. WASHINGTON D C UNITED STAT-Es PATENTOEEIGE.

VSILLAS S. PUTNAM AND LUGIUS H. DWELLEY, OF DORCHESTER, MASS.

ASSIGNORS TO S.

S. PUTNAM & CO.

IMPROVEMENT IN MACHINES FOR MAKING HORSESi- IEI-NAILIS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 62,684, dated March 5,1867.

the county of N orfolk'and State of Massachu-- setts, have invented anImproved Machine for Making Wrought Nails, of which the following is afull, clear, and exact description, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, making part of this specification, inwhichl'Figure 1 is a perspective view of our improved machine, a portionof the top plate being broken away to show the cut-oif77 and gage. Fig.2 is a rear view, showing the drivingshaft and gearing, the top platebeing removed; Fig. 3, detail lshowing the cut-oli" and gage rinelevation. Fig. 4 is a central longitudinal section through one of thedieholders.

. Our inventionconsists in an improved ma-Q chine'for making wroughtnails directly from the rod by a continuous' operation, the blankV orpiece of metal from which. the nail is to be made being first cut oifrom therod, and then passed successivelyT through a series of revolvingdies operating in pairs, by whichit is gradually drawn down andconverted into a iinished nail.

To enable others skilled in the art to understand and use our invention,we will proceed to describe the manner in which we have carried it out.

In the' said drawings, A is the bed-plate,

` from which rises a heavy standard, A', which supports the workingparts of the machine. B is the drivingshaft, which is supported in thebearing C, and has attached to it the driving-pulley D. E is abevel-gear attached to the drivin g-shaft, rwhich'drives the bevel-gearF, to the shaft of which is secured a cog-wheel, V,from which motion iscommunicatechthrough suitable intermediate gearsW X,to the gears G H I JK L. M is a beveled gear attached' to the opposite endof the shaft B,

which drives the bevel-gear N, fromthe shaft of which motion iscommunicated, through the gear B2, to thegears O P Q B S. The shaftsoft-heseg'earsGr H I J KL O P, B2 Q R S run in suitable bearings, Y,lpro]'ectinf gI from the standard A', and carry at their 0pposite ends therevolving die-holders'orrolls a b c d e j g h j k l, which are arrangedin pairs beneath eachother, and each pair at at right angles to thatimmediately above it, as seen in- Fig. 1. Each of these die-holders hasa recess cut nearly across its face, for the reception of a steel blockor die, C2, which is so fitted to it that it may be moved lin its recessand adjusted by mea-ns of the screws y and z, Fig. 4, the outer end ofeach of the dies being curved to correspond to the circular form of thedie-holders.

The recesses in the first pair of dies are of a half-round form,enlarged at the head and tapering to a point, bywhichfthe blank isslightly reduced and drawnout. This form -i's retained in thes'econd andthird pair of dies, by Awhich the blank is further reduced andelongated, the round form being maintained for the reason that, inreducing a blank in a square or iiat form during the entire process, thealternate action of the dies on opposite sides is liable to twist theblank and make its point diamond-shaped in its crosssection instead ofsquare, as is required. The three succeeding pairs-of dies have theirrecesses formed rectangular .to further reduce the nail and finish it ofthe required form.

We do not confine ourselves to the exact number of pairs of dies of eachof these forms, as above described, but consider the drawing down of theblank nearly or quite to a point in the round form, in the first part ofthe operation, and the gradual reduction of the blank, as essential tothe production of a per--4 fect nail. The dies in the upper part of the'blank and cutting it ,ofrom the rod will'now be describedL Tisthe topplate, from which rises the tube U, of any suitablelength, through whichthe nail-rod is fed into the machine.

m is a steel block secured to the under side of the plate T, and has ahole through it of a '2 l 'casu suiicient siz'e to allow the passage ofthe nailrod, andforms a stationary cutter. vnis a reciprocating cutter,pivoted at o to an elbow, p, secured to the plate T, and has an arm, q,which is bent over, forming a spring, 6, which rests against the underside of the plate T. r is a projection. on the arm q, which is struck bya tooth, 7, on the back of the die-holder a, Figs. 2 land 3, as itrevolves, by which means the cutter n is vibrated in contact with thelower face of the block m, to sever a blank from the rod at veachcomplete revolution of the dies. s is a tube or conductor leading to thefirst pair of dies through an elongated aperture, in which projects thebent arm or iinger 8 of a gage, t, against which' the end of the.nail-rod rests. This gage is pivoted at u to an ear, v, rising from thetop plate, and

its length is adjusted by a slot in the ear o, and a screw, in awell-known manner. As the cutter n is vibrated to cut oi a piece of therod, it strikes the gage t, and vibrates it to one side against theresistance ot aspring, 5.,

4thus withdrawing the finger 8 from the tube s, and permitting the pieceof metal or blank to pass through the tube s into the first pair ofdies', which are so arranged and timed, with respect to the cut-on', asto be in the exact .position to receive the blank as it passes throughthe conductor. A tube or conductor is placed between each pair of rollsor die` holders, to receive the blank and guide it to the next pairbelow.

Operation: The dies having been set in motion throughthe connectionsalreadyl explained, the nail-rod, properly heated, is placed in the tubeU, as shown in Fig. 1 and passes down between the cutters until ltisarrested by the gage in the tube s. volve, the tooth 7 strikes againstthe projection r on the arm q of the cutter n, by which it is vibrated,and a piece of metal or blank of a proper length to form a nail is cutolf from the rod, the gage t being struck at the same time by the cutter'n and moved out of the tube s, to allow the blank to pass through tothe dies. At the instant the blank iscut ofi', the tooth 7 passes oil'the projection o' on the arm q, and the cutter 'n is drawn back by theaction of the spring 6, which permits the gage t to be returned to itsplace by the spring 5 in time to arrest the end of the nailrod as itfalls through the tube U. The blank passes through the conductor s intothe first pair of dies, which are in the proper position to receive it,and as they revolve it is slightly elongated, and discharged into thetube or conductor w, through which it passes to the next pair of diesbeneath, where the operation is repeated; and when the first pair ofdies has made a complete revolution a fresh blank is cut oi and passedin, as before. The blanks are thus passed successively from one pair ofdies to that immediately beneath, the revolution of each pair of diesbeing timed so that As the dies re-V they will arrive in the properposition to receive the blank as it comes from the 'pair next above, bywhich -means the blank is gradually drawn down to the required form andconverted into a finished nail. 1f preferred, the gage t may bedispensed with, and the nail-rod may be fed into the machine at therequired intervals by means of rolls or other suitable device.

It will be seen'that by the above-described machine we are enabled toform a wrought nail directly from the rod without its being partiallyformed in another machine, thus reducing the expense 'and facilitatingthe process of manufacturing. By iirst reducing the blank to a point, ina round or oval form, as above described, we are enabled to produce amore perfect nail than when the blank is drawn down -in a square or ilatform during We do not conne ourselves to the exact" position andarrangement of the/die-holders or "rolls, as shown, for these maybevaried without departing fromthe spirit of' our invention. Forinstance, instead of each pair of die-holders being at right angles tothe succeeding pair,twc pairs may be arranged in the same verticalplane, and the two succeeding pairs at right angles thereto. 'We preferthe method rst described, however, as it is the most compact and simple.the blank being cut from the rod as-abwe described, it may be cut from aplate of the required width and thickness, a suitable cnt oi" andconductor being used.

We are aware that a single pair of dies for making nails has been used,and that two pairs of dies workin g at right angles to each other, butacting simultaneously upon the blank, with the intention of making anail at a single operation, have also been used 5 and we are furtheraware that a series of traveling and revolving dies operating "on threesides of a stationary blank,'in combination with a stationary former,has been used; and that a series of vibrating-lever dies, arranged atright angles to each other and operating alternatelyon opposite sides ofthe blank, has been used; but in this latter case fthe operation is'moreone of squeezing than of working, welding, and drawing out. These,therefore, we do not claim.

What we claim as our invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is

1. ,The combination of the' several pairs of revolving dies, connectedby gearing, and

Instead of otherwise arranged to operate successively during the firstpart .of the operation, and and alternately' on opposite sides of anailafterward to the form properfor the nail, as

b1ank,substantial1y as described. speciied.

2. In combination with the foregoing, a de- SILAS S. PUTNAM. vice forcutting oft` the blank, substantially LUCIUS H. D'WELLEY. as described'.Witnesses to signature of S. S. Putnam:

3. In nail-making machines having. a series R. K. BELLAMYI, of pairs'ofrevolving dies, operating substan- J. E. PUTNAM. tially as described,constructing the several Witnesses to signature ofL. H.Dwel1ey: pairs ofdies in the formA herein described, for P. E. TESGHEMACHER, drawing downthe blank in a roundedform N. W. STEARNS.

